Visual documentation and communication enables viewers to understand and become inspired by a designer’s intentions and outcomes, therefore the importance of representational methods and skills. 

With digitalisation becoming the present and the future of design processes and representation, my prologue to tertiary education and architecture was the introduction of essential digital softwares and the solidification of fundamental design knowledge and skills - Foundations of Design: Representation. From hand drawing 2D orthographic, sectional, and axonometric views of a croissant, to extruding flat images into a 3D mario world in ‘flatness vs. projection’, experimenting with developable surfaces and CAD software in the context of designing and transforming two-dimensional geometry into three-dimensional structural forms in ‘pattern vs. surface’, translating a short story into a notated 4D model in ‘frame vs. field’, and finally collating all my works into a portfolio on indesign, I discovered my strength in design translations, and potential for improvement in digital fabrication.

Design Visualisation was a challenge, teaching the softwares of 3Ds max, Vray and Adobe Premiere pro. Digital technologies and processes is a skill set and area of knowledge I was not confident in, but one I knew the significance of. Module 1 required the translation of a traditional still life painting process into a contemporary, digital representation. I learnt the principles of colour, texture and material mapping, lighting, and composition. Module 2 built upon the previous task, expanding the digital still life scene to an interior room set design through the investigations of narrative and composition. I have shaped my ‘lived-in room’ to accommodate for the passionate yet clumsy personality of an affluent business woman currently working from home. To highlight my underlying contrasting concept of bittersweet throughout, I established a dramatic yet comforting ambience with a warm red/brown colour palette with hints of cool blues and purples, harsh and soft lighting, height and depth hierarchy in composition, and camera focus. Module 3 introduces storyboarding and narrative through exterior renders and animation effective visualisation methods easily understood by both designers and the wider public. To encapsulate the tone of the animation, I learnt about architecture in images (form, shape, texture, material), cinematography techniques (framing, lighting, composition) and editing techniques (cutting, transitions, audio). ‘Jane Doe’ accredits a proportion of reality, those who can relate and see themselves in the protagonist of this narrative. Although ordinary, my animation serves as a reminder for those who endure the bitterness of life, for those fleeting moments of sweetness and beauty - a chocolate treat, the view of a sunrise, or simply the ability to enjoy another day. I recognised my strength in creating and portraying a narrative, however my software skills in texture mapping, creating animation and post production have much room for improvement, which I look forward to in the future.

I believe parti diagrams (shorten from ‘parti pris’, meaning ‘decision taken’/’point of departure’ in french) are key to visual communication - a simple drawing or diagram which represents design intentions with clarity. From Design Studio Alpha to Epsilon, I have learnt to summarise my design narrative and concepts into clean and straightforward diagrams. 

Cognitive processes refer to the human brain’s method of processing input/information. represent potentials for human expression. It requires the hand and eye to coordinate, engaging the physical, mental, psychological and the emotional, to stimulate learning and creative thinking.

Verena von Beckerath (Heide & von Beckerath) referenced the hand drawn illustrations of Heinrich Tessenow in her ‘Housing Narratives’ (MSDatHome) talk. His drawings were simple yet so intricate, conveying the narrative behind the design with clarity - the idea of home- even to those who have not the slightest architectural knowledge. Tessenow even portrays the recent work from home situation with the simplest drawing of a man slouched over the table next to a window. The free-hand sketches and drawings are informal and loose, and personal in nature, providing sufficient inspiration and direction for design and for communication.

Henceforth, my decision to consistently employ a graphical linework aesthetic to communicate my design studio Epsilon project - the Microcosm. To me, this method of representation acts as a child of digital and free-hand drawings, through the use of technology in the process of 3D modelling and 2D translation, yet the lines appear purely representative in nature - it does not directly provide a 3D rendered environment, but gives sufficient information for the viewer to visualise the scene in the third dimension. Proficient handling of lineweights is crucial in this graphical approach, to differentiate between ideas, elements and visual hierarchy - what do I want the audience to look at and understand first? 

In conclusion, I believe traditional representation skills and contemporary digital potentials can coexist and become mutually beneficial in the progress of design and communication. Although, I am still experimenting with approaches to graphical representation today, to discover a style of representation of my own.